Ghana minister rebuffs criticism of large-size gov't

Ghana's Information Minister Mustapha Hamid on Wednesday responded to criticism against the long list of ministerial nominees, saying they never made a promise of a lean government.

Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo on Wednesday nominated 54 deputy ministers for the government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), swelling the size of the minister and deputy minister nominees to 110 and perhaps more.

Johnson Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary of the minority National Democratic Congress (NDC), criticized the move, saying Akufo-Addo had gone contrary to a pre-election promise of instituting a lean administration.

According to Nketia, the NPP has gone against the number of government appointees in the previous government led by John Dramani Mahama, describing the development as"unacceptable".

He said the large number of government appointees would lead to a huge amount of public funds or emoluments.

"Increasing the size of government will mean spending of too much money to run the country, NPP mentioned that they will cut down on government. Unfortunately, they are increasing the numbers," he indicated.

But presidential spokesperson Hamid said the NPP never promised a lean government during the 2016 electioneering campaign.

He told journalists at a press conference in Accra that in Ghana's history, there were smaller governments that landed the country in bigger debt and mess.

The minister said it was "better to have a large government with men of integrity who will be efficient on the job than a lean, corrupt government".